demon of memory
by ayakayasha
Summary: my first story. ayaka is calld a monster everywhere she goes, but y? she has no memory of herself or past, but every 1 fears her anyway. but not Takanashi. together they set out to fight thier own demons and their truths
1. Chapter 1

Demon of Memory

Demon of Memory

"Kid, why don't you just leave me alone for once? You know who I am, don't you…" "Yeah, I know who you are, and I don't care! You saved me and I still haven't paid you back yet, and I'm not going to leave you alone till I do." "…Fine. Do what you want, but I won't be the one responsible for whatever happens to you…." "You don't have to worry about me; I can take care of myself!" "Yes…that's why I had to save you from simply falling off a cliff, and I'm starting to wish I hadn't." "Hey! Don't say that, that's mean you know." "Well if you still intend to follow me around you might as well get used to it"

You look away and continue walking on without saying a word. Just why the hell was this little kid following you around all of a sudden? He clamed to know who you are, but still insisted on following you anyway. He must know the kind of punishment he will receive from the village later for being near you, not to mention what his parents will say for being away from home for so long. This kid is either stupid, or just has a death wish.

"Um by the way…Miss Ayaka, where exactly are we going?" "For one, you are not to call me Miss, and second, I'm going in search of something." "Oh, really?! What is it? Do you know what it looks like? I can help you find what ever it is you're looking for!" "No, you can't…no one can; it's something I must find on my own." "…Ayaka?"

You swiftly turn to face the boy. "I've changed my mind; it's about time you headed home. I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you by now." At these words the young boy just turns his head toward the ground and wears a sad, sorry expression on his face. It looks as though he was going to cry. "They're not; they died a long time ago." You look away with a slightly pained look on your face. "I'm sorry." "It's ok. I mean, I miss them a lot, but at least I don't have to worry about getting in trouble all the time. Plus I can do whatever I want, so it's not all bad." You turn to face him, and see that he is clearly trying to fake a smile. You wonder to yourself how many times a day he must be lying to himself about losing his parents.

"Regardless, you do know the village rule about any kind of interaction with me don't you? I'm sure the village elder won't be too happy with you. So for the last time, go home, and stop bothering me, before you get hurt." "Oh, I don't care about that. The elder is just an old fart that doesn't know anything anyway. Besides I already told you that I can take care of myself, and I'm gonna follow you till I can pay you back. Why do you keep trying to get rid of me anyway?" "Because, you annoy me." "Ggrr. You know, you should be a little nicer to people! That's probably why all the adults tell us to stay away from you, you know!" "It would be wise of you heed their advise and do as your told."

You continue to walk on, trying to ignore him. Perhaps if you did he would get bored and leave. You keep it up until nightfall. You find a nice place to camp for the night and decide to stop there. As soon as you look back, there he is right behind you, ready to set up camp for the night. "Go down to the river and catch three fish. I'll take care of the fire and tent tonight." You look up at him just in time to see him get the largest grin he can fit on his face before running as fast as he can down to the river. "Hmm, I'm surprised he followed me for so long. Sure is a strange little kid." You go back to what you were doing, and try not to think about it. Finally you finish setting up camp and starting the fire, but the kid still hasn't come back yet. You decide to check on him.

When you get to the river, you find him soaking wet, still trying to catch a fish with his bare hands. "All you're going to catch by doing that is a cold." You walk into the river with him, your knife at the ready. "But, at lest you're persistent. Now watch, this is what you need to do…" you stand there for a few minutes, watching the fish carefully, then suddenly throw your knife into the river. The boy just stands there with a confused look on his face. You reach down and pick up your knife, and smile at the sight of a fish on the end if it. You hand the kid your knife. "Now try it like that. Just watch them and wait for a good-sized fish. Then at just the right moment, nail him." He stands there for a minute, then clumsily throws the knife. When he picks it back up, there's no fish on it. You chuckle to yourself and walk over to him. "I didn't expect you to get it on your first try; it took me awhile to get it." You take the knife back from him. "Now, why don't you go back and warm yourself up, before you get sick. I'll take care of the fish." He nodes and heads back.

When you get back with the fish, you find the kid, in his sad and sorry state, asleep next to the fire. You decide not to bother him and cook the fish. When the fish are done, you wake him up, and hand him his share. You sit down on the other side of the fire, and watch in amusement as he devours his fish. What is up with this kid? Just what is his story? The only thing you know about his is that his parents died and he lives in the village. Hell. You don't even know his name, but here he is, eating dinner with you and insisting that you let him travel with you. You sit there silently for a minute, thinking things over. "…..Ok kid," he looks up at you at the sound of his apparently new nickname. "I'll let you come with me." As soon as he hears that he looks as happy as can be. "But….I need you to tell me who you are." He suddenly gets a worried look on his face. "Wha-what….do you mean….who I am?" "I mean, tell me about what happened to your parents. How you ended up in the village, just tell me about yourself. Let's face it kid, I don't even know your name…." He sits there with a scared look on his face. "Um, well….there's really not much to tell. I mean," "Just tell me anyway." "….Ok." he takes a deep breath, ready to tell his tale.

"When I was 7, still just a little kid, my parents and I lived up in the far north. It would snow there a lot, and when it did….we would always play together for hours. We would make angels in the snow, and throw snowballs at each other. When it got late, or too cold, we would go in and snuggle together by the fire with hot tea, telling stories and laughing. Sometimes we would stay up all night like that……" There was a faint smile on his face at the thought of his parents. He looks like he might cry again, so you tell him to go on so he won't break down right there. "One day, this strange man in black came. He asked my parents if they would let me help him with an errand he needed to run. He said he was traveling and didn't know his way around the village, and would pay me for the trouble. But when I got back…the stranger was gone and my parents where lying dead in the snow…" He can't hold it in anymore. He starts to cry into his knees, and tries to cover his face at the same time. But considering how many times he has to bring his head up to try and catch air between sobs, it's not working very well.

You look away, knowing he doesn't want you to see him in this state, but then you hear his raspy voice, it's barely audible. "I'll ne-never forget his f-face though….. He had l-long black hair, and he had a jagged scar all do-down his face, and his hand looked like it once badly burned. T-that was when I promised myself, and my parents, that I would train hard and when I was ready, I'd find him…." You look up at him to find an angry and determined face. "and kill him… After that I left the village and went traveling, but I didn't pack enough food and I ran out after about three weeks, I was really hungry. That was when the village elder found me and brought me to his village. I stayed there the whole time, but when they told us about you," He looks up at you now with a dry face and a fierce fire in his eyes for some odd reason. "I decided I needed to train harder than ever and find you. I thought if I stuck with you, then I'd have a better chance of finding the guy that killed mom and dad."

You stand and turn away. "Hmm, well I'll say one thing kid, I admire your determination." "My names Takanashi Nowa, not kid!" You turn swiftly on him to see him standing as well, and looking like he is ready to hit something. You guess it's because his past emotions are catching up with him. "Besides, I'm already 12 years old, so I'm not a kid anymore, got it?!" You let out a small laugh, "Ok, Takanashi it is. But until you're sixteen, my age, you're still a kid." "By the way Ayaka, I just told you about me…but what about you? I know that all the adults kept saying something about you being some kind of danger to the village or something, and that you don't have a place to belong… What did they mean?"

You turn away again and stare blankly into the distance, not knowing what to say. It's true that you don't have a place to belong, but why does everyone say you were so dangerous? You had never tried to do anything to harm an innocent person before…or had you? You find it aggravating how everyone else knows so much about you, when you don't know a single thing yourself. Why? Why can't you remember anything! It seems like everywhere you go, people run and hide, or avoids you like you're no better than some stray demon. People huddle together and say such things as 'it's her' and 'has she no shame' or perhaps the worst, 'careful, lest she kills use all, the good for nothing monster!' But this kid… You turn to look at him. He doesn't seem to fear you. He doesn't run and hide; he doesn't persecute you for anything…why? You can't make sense of anything, but don't want to fight it…

"There's nothing for me to tell. The village told you everything you need to know about me." "But," You look up at the sky to see it full of stars. "It's late. There's a blanket for you in the tent. Go to bed, we're getting an early start tomorrow." "Come on Ayaka, I had to tell you about my past, it's only fair that," "I told you to get to bed. If you're expecting to come with me, you need to have better training than what you were doing before, especially if want to find the man that killed you mother and father…" "…Ok. Good night Ayaka." "Goodnight."


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, hope you liked the first ch

Hey, hope you liked the first ch. Here's ch.2. Ps please feel free to send me reviews, good or bad. Thx! 

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"No, you have to snap your wrist more when you go to throw it. Watch one more time." You throw your knife at the target you made on a nearby tree, and hit the bull's-eye dead on. When Takanashi goes to pull it out, it's buried at lest two inches into the tree. You see him struggling to get it out. "Ggrr… got it! You know Ayaka, I don't think I've ever seen anyone able to throw a knife the way you do. I mean come on, how can I snap my wrist any harder, and in such a small amount of time?" He walks over to you and tries again, only to have it fumble in the air for a few seconds before it falls short once more. "I told you, it takes practice and a lot of failures." You retrieve the knife once more and toss it him. You watch as he gets scared and avoids catching the knife, not wanting to cut himself. You just smile to yourself and step out of his way so he can try again. You think it's amazing that this little kid, who you've only known for about a week, can make you laugh and smile so much. In fact he makes you smile to yourself so often that your face is beginning to get sore.

Suddenly you hear a rustle in the bushes next to you. You grab hold of Takanashi's arm firmly to tell to be quiet and still. You hold your hand out to him, and he hands you your knife. You stand ready to attack, as you call out, "Who goes there?" No one answers. You look to Takanashi. "Keep your head low, stay quiet, and get cover behind that rock right there. I don't care what happens, you stay there and keep quiet, got it?" He nods his head and heads for the rock. Once you know he's fine you shout, "I'll ask once more, who's there?"

Out of the brush, a sinbon (throwing needle) comes out at you. You deflect it with your knife, but only just in time. Then another one comes at you from out of the trees, then three more from the brush. You dodge and deflect all four, but one comes at you out of a blind spot, and grazes your cheek. The next one to come at you, you grab and throw back. You hear someone groan with the sound of being hit. "Come out NOW! Come out and tell me why you're attacking, and I might not hurt you…" _"HA! Like hell, you beast!" _'Great,' you think to yourself, 'another person to attack me and call me a beast.' Then more sinbon are thrown at you, only this time it's a huge barrage of them. You jump up in time to dodge a few of them, but then more came at you. You take your knife and one of the sinbon and start deflecting them left and right at lightning fast speed.

Takanashi stares at you in awe. How could _anyone_ move that _fast_? Once you get rid of those ones, you land and turn to where Takanashi is hidden. "Takanashi, run! Get yourself away from here!" "But," "GO!" "G-got it!" He gets up and starts to run; all the while thinking to himself that he should have at lest _tried_ to do something to help you. 'Dang it! Why is it that every time something happens, I have to run? The last time I ran, I lost mom and dad…I don't want people to get hurt again! I've got to go help Ayaka!'

And just like that, Takanashi turns around to go back and help you, but someone shows up right in front of him. For some reason he's dressed like a ninja, 'I thought the ninjas died out a long time ago. Oh well, it doesn't matter, I have to beat this guy and go help Ayaka!' But before Takanashi can even make a move, the mysterious ninja seems to suddenly disappear, only to reappear instantly behind Takanashi and pin him to the ground. "_Are you the one traveling with that monster?_" "No, I'm traveling with my friend! You and that other guy are the monsters! Why are you guys attacking us? What did we ever do to you, huh?!" "_That, little boy, is none of your concern. Now shut up, and go to sleep like a good little boy. You're coming with us._" "What? No way! I'm not going with," The ninja hits a pressure point on Takanashi's neck, knocking him out. He picks Takanashi up and hoists him onto his back. Then he gives out a long, high whistle.

Back in the woods, you're still holding your own fairly well with your enemy. Besides the one on your cheek, you had received only a few minor scratches from the barrages of sinbon. In turn, your attacker had also received a number of hits from his own weapon, but he's still concealing himself in the trees, so you have no way of knowing what kind of damage you've dealt him. Suddenly there's a high-toned whistle, high enough to hurt your ears, and the attacks stop. The attacker comes at you with out warning; he is dressed in a ninja's combat suit. You're still kneeling from the pain in your ears when he comes within three feet of you, kunai (ninja knife) drawn, ready to strike his last blow. It's only at the last second that you bring your knife back up to your guard and deal a fair blow to his arm. With that, he leaps past you and retreats.

'Damn…I let him get away… Just who the hell was that, and how did he know me?' "Doesn't matter now…I better find Takanashi and make sure he's alright." You get up and make your way out of the woods in the direction that you saw Takanashi go, but when you look, you can't find him anywhere. "Takanashi? Takanashi!" 'Damn, where the hell did he get too…?' "Takanashi! Where are you? That guy's gone now, you can come out…Takanashi?!" you start to get really worried when you hear a slight crunch underneath your foot. You look down to find a note with the word Beast on it, and decide to pick it up. After a moment you become scared and angry from what was on the note.

_Beast,_

_We have taken your companion captive. If you want to retrieve him from us, you are welcome to try. We will be waiting for you in the next village to the west, Ryoushi. If you fail to show by sundown tomorrow, the boy will die. _

"Damn it!" You punch a nearby tree out of shear frustration. 'Great, it just had to be Ryoushi!' you look toward the west. "Ryoushi, the village of hunters…" You start to suddenly notice a small pain on you hand and look down at it to see that your knuckles were scraped when you hit the tree. At the sight of the blood, a sudden and disturbing image of a bloodstained ground flashes through your mind, but only for a moment. You wonder where you had seen it before, but then remember the problem at hand. By the position of the sun, you judge that it was near noon. 'Damn, I'll have to move fast if I want to make it to Ryoushi before sunset tomorrow.' You clench your fists tight and set out for Ryoushi as fast as you can. 'Just hold Takanashi, I'll be there soon…I promise!'


	3. Chapter 3

It's nightfall of the first day

It's nightfall of the first day. Takanashi was taken only eight hours ago, and you have less than twenty-four hours to get to Ryoushi and rescue him. Wait…why are you worried about some kid…? Just why the hell should you care?! All your life, people have done nothing but hurt you. Village elders banish you; noblemen hire hunters, such as the ninja from earlier, to kill you. Even the commoners, they will continue with accusing you and fearing you, and there are also the few that have the guts to try and befriend you, get close to you, only to stab you in the back later.

All you know is that, for some reason you may never understand, Takanashi seems different. No…he _is_ different! He understands the kind of pain you do. He's never said it, but you can imagine that he's had to deal with all the other kids of the village ganging up on him, making fun at him. He's different from the others. He has no family, no proper home, and maybe even no friends. He didn't belong in that village; he was born up north, in the snow. He didn't belong in the gathering that villages often have, he has no parents to deal with village problems with. He's alone.

"He _was_ alone." You realize that there is something else there too; another thing, another pain, which the two of you share. You can't quite place it, but you know it's there. That dim gleam in his eyes proves it. You can easily guess that it's a look that is not often seen, and is not easily gained, but something that few people have had to endure, and no one should have to go through. "But just what _is_ it?! What is the pain that we share that I can't see?"

You look to the stars as if waiting for them to answer your question. "Perhaps it's the death of his parents." Why not? After all you don't a family either, at lest as far as you know of. "But how would that be it? For all I know, I could have a nice little family somewhere looking for me. He, HELL, for all I know, Takanashi could be my brother! I don't have any memory of any part of my past; I barely even know who I am. The last memory I have is from two years ago, waking up in a strangle little village and having some strange old man next to the bed. After that, all I've ever done is wonder from village to village, trying to find the answers to who I am, or rather was, and what my past was like…" You take another bite of the rabbit you caught, remembering the small past you could.

Suddenly the image of the blood stained ground comes to mind again. As soon as it does, your whole body shakes. You tightly grab hold of your shoulders and double over. What the hell is wrong with you? It's simply an image; you shouldn't be losing control like this. You've never even seen it before! No, that wasn't entirely true. Something was wrong. You admit that you've seen blood on the ground before, but there's something about this image, something different, something horrifying about it. And another thing, you haven't seen this particular image before sure, but it was familiar… Your mind drew up a blank, but your body… It seems to remember it as something it never wanted to live through again, or you would simply break down and fall apart. But why…? Why? Just what was happening to you!?

I know this chapter is short, but I just don't know what else to do with it at this point. At lest it leaves with a cliffy. Well no worries, I should have ch.4 four done in a few days. Thx for reading!  And please review I want to know what you think, thx.


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